The EIF Upgrade

In its 2009-10 Budget the Australian Government announced a $1.1 billion
Super Science Initiative to build on the National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) investments in research infrastructure.
As part of this initiative, $7 million has been allocated to the upgrade
of Australia’s plasma fusion research capabilities, the need for which was
identified in the 2008 Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure.

The Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility (APFRF, formerly the National
Plasma Fusion Research Facility) is a uniquely versatile plasma research
facility, located in the Research School of Physics and Engineering within
the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. It is capable of
accessing a wide range of plasma configurations or shapes, and utilising
the associated state-of-the-art power and measurement systems that allow
fundamental studies of plasma, the fourth state of matter.

The facility is operated by the staff from the Plasma Research Laboratory,
and serves both domestic and international collaborators including
researchers from China, Japan, Korea, Germany, and the United States.

A core component of the facility is the H-1 Heliac plasma confinement device
(Heliac). The Heliac allows investigation of basic plasma physics and
exploration of ideas for improved magnetic design of the fusion power
stations that will follow the ITER international fusion experiment in France.

While the Heliac’s shape prevents its use in a reactor, its high degree of
flexibility allows testing basic plasma theory over a wide range of conditions,
making it ideal for a university or research environment.

Similarly, the facility provides a convenient, flexible and well diagnosed
test-bed for development of plasma measurement systems for both stellarators
and tokomaks, an area where Australia is at the international forefront.

The Heliac itself was originally funded through the ANU block grant and Major
Equipment grants, and was established as a National Facility in the first
round of the Major National Research Facility (MNRF) program in 1997. MNRF
funding was used to provide two precision 14000 Amp magnet power supplies,
high power pulsed electron and RF heating sources, and a set of plasma
diagnostic systems to improve the versatility of this national facility.

More recently a variation of the MNRF funding agreement allowed the
automation of the operating system to improve operational efficiency,
and to allow greater control of plasma parameters.

Objectives of the Upgrade

The Objectives of the upgrade are to:

upgrade the technical capabilities of the APFRF by replacing or upgrading
various components of the Heliac system such as the plasma generation and
heating system and associated antennas, the vacuum system, the plasma
measurement systems, precision current regulator, and fast cameras

boost Australian capability in fusion science and engineering by making the
facility more accessible to local and international researchers

offer open access to data arising from the facility upgrades to relevant
research communities

offer merit-based access to the research infrastructure upgraded and built
through the Project

Context

In the 2008 Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure, fusion
was included under the Sustainable Energy Future capability among long
timescale candidates as a potential large-scale, non-polluting energy source.
The Roadmap identified that plasma fusion required concerted international
collaboration, investment in local capabilities including experimental
facilities, and co-operation to bring to commercial reality. The upgrade
of the APFRF is part of this investment.

In addition to increased technical capabilities, the upgrade will develop
capabilities and expertise by fostering student, post-graduate and
post-Doctoral training. It will also facilitate the development of
measurement systems suitable for application to current and next generation
fusion power experiments such as the ITER experimental fusion reactor.

Scope of the Upgrade

The APFRF upgrade will include a number or technical upgrades and additions
to the existing facility. These include:

Upgrading the original (pre-MNRF) medium power RF heating system.

The system used to generate plasma in the H-1 has proven to be the most
often-used method of plasma formation and heating, because of its
flexibility of modulation and ability to control the phase elements
in the antenna.

That system is almost 50 years old, is becoming increasingly unreliable, and
is the main cause of unscheduled facility down time.

The upgrade will double the available power, improve reliability and
facility uptime, and reduce electric power costs.

Furthermore, the ability to vary frequency over a wide range will allow
properly controlled magnetic field scans while using resonant heating.

Purchase and installation of new RF antennas.

This will allow more frequent pulses, control of antenna position and enable
RF plasma to be used as a cleaning method to remove oxygen and carbon impurities
from the chamber walls and internal structures.

Installation of a precision current regulator.

This will allow better and more controlled access to island divertor plasma configurations.

Installation of a medium power continuous or long pulse gyrotron, contingent
upon availability of funds after the procurement of the RF upgrade above.

This
gyrotron will be a more reliable, routine source of electron heating than the
present high power pulsed gyrotron, applicable to both H-1 and the satellite
test chamber.

Upgrade of the vacuum system.

This upgrade will allow better impurity control,
which is necessary for achieving higher ionisation states, and for dealing with
material ablated or sputtered from wall material tests.

Upgrade of the data system.

The upgrade will make data more readily available, especially to users not
intimately familiar with details of H-1 operation.

The resulting diagnostic (measurement system) automation will greatly
improve the diagnostic system coverage, so that key diagnostics are
available on all shots.

Installation of fast cameras and photomultiplier arrays.

This installation
will provide important infrastructure for development of plasma edge and
divertor diagnostics, both of which require detailed measurements because
of their complexity.

The use of the various H-1 power, heating and diagnostic systems on a small
satellite device.

This small device will allow tests of plasma edge and wall
diagnostics under more realistic conditions, for example, under higher
power and plasma density.